Afghanistan Peace CampaignA questionnaire for the effort — called the Refugee Outreach and Wellbeing Initiative — shows the agency will gather detailed information about household members, including their names, jobs, languages spoken and immigration status.
Some refugee groups expressed concern at the idea because the Trump administration has taken steps to strip Afghans in the U.S. of legal status as part of the president’s broader immigration crackdown, a dramatic reversal of President Joe Biden’s welcome of more than 88,000 Afghans fleeing the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in 2021.
“This is one of the most vulnerable groups, with nearly every pathway closed to them and dwindling hope for reuniting with their families,” Beth Oppenheim, CEO of the refugee resettlement group HIAS, said in a statement. “The idea of collecting data on this population is something that could erode trust, particularly in a moment that feels precarious for so many.”
The questionnaire says the information collected will be used to “identify common challenges” and assess whether additional resources or support may be needed. The email said the push would run through Aug. 7, with calls expected to take 30 minutes each.
ORR, which is part of the Department of Health and Human Services, did not respond to a request for comment, nor did the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Nearly five years have passed since Biden’s chaotic exit from the two-decade conflict in Afghanistan and scramble to evacuate Afghans who aided the U.S. military during that time.
“If the federal government wants to check on the well-being of Afghan families, it can do that without turning the process into a backdoor deportation operation,” he said.
ORR officials discussed the plan with refugee resettlement organizations in late May, according to two people familiar with the meeting, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to share details of the conversation. The officials said the effort would target people without permanent status.
Angie Salazar, the acting director of ORR, is a former U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement official. She faced criticism from Democrats last year over her role in an effort to quickly deport unaccompanied children to Guatemala over a holiday weekend, a furtive operation that was blocked by a federal judge.
The questionnaire to be read to Afghan immigrants over the phone includes a consent notice that emphasizes the survey is not anonymous and that information may be retained for 15 years.
A section of the questionnaire titled “Assimilation and Integration” asks Afghans how well they feel they have adjusted to life in the United States, ranging from “very well” to “very poorly.”
In addition to asking for the immigration status of each household member, it requests the government-issued “alien number” for anyone in the household who may need additional support or be eligible for government benefits.
President Donald Trump suspended the issuance of all immigrant and nonimmigrant visas from Afghanistan as part of a broader travel ban in 2025.
A month later, his administration ended temporary protected status for some 12,000 Afghans who had been granted permission to live and work in the U.S. legally. In the termination notice, then-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi L. Noem said security and economic conditions had improved in Afghanistan enough to allow them to safely return.
After an Afghan immigrant was accused of shooting two National Guard members blocks away from the White House in November, killing one and badly injuring another, the administration halted the processing of any pending Afghan immigration applications.
ORR first conducted outreach as part of its well-being initiatives in March, attempting to contact 1,800 White South Africans brought to the U.S. through the refugee resettlement program, a U.S. official said on condition of anonymity to share internal figures. But White South Africans entering as refugees — a priority group for Trump — have access to permanent residence and would not face the same risk of deportation.